French West Africa

French West Africa was a federation of French colonial possessions in West Africa that existed from 1895 to 1958. The federation included Mauritania, Senegal, Mali, Guinea, Cote d'Ivoire, Burkina Faso, Benin, and Niger, and the capital was Dakar from 1902 to 1958. After 1946, all of the territories were allowed to elect local representatives, and universal suffrage was enacted in 1957. In 1958, West Africa was granted autonomy in the French community and no longer regarded as a colony, and its member states were granted independence in 1960.